James SHEAKLEY

(1829-1917)

SHEAKLEY, James, a
Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Sheakleyville, Mercer
County, Pa., April 24, 1829; attended the common schools and
Meadville (Pa.) Academy; learned the trade of cabinetmaker; moved
to California in 1851 and engaged in the mining of gold; returned
to Pennsylvania and settled in Greenville in 1855; engaged in
mercantile pursuits and in 1864 in the production and shipment of
petroleum; school director of Greenville, Pa., 1864-1868; elected
as a Democrat to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875-March 3,
1877); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1876 to the
Forty-fifth Congress; appointed United States commissioner of
schools of Alaska by President Cleveland in July 1887 and served
five years; studied law and was admitted to the bar in the United
States District Court of Alaska in 1888; delegate to the Democratic
National Convention in 1892; Governor of Alaska 1893-1897; again
returned to Greenville, Pa., in 1898; mayor of Greenville
1909-1913; elected justice of the peace in 1914 and served until
his death in Greenville, Pa., on December 10, 1917; interment in
Shenango Valley Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present